Two national nonprofits, Animal Legal Defense Fund and Compassion Over Killing, have filed a complaint in a federal district court in Oakland, Calif. against the FDA, USDA, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and Agriculture Marketing Service, and the FTC for failing to regulate animal welfare labeling claims common on egg cartons.

According to a statement on Compassion Over Killing’s website, petitions filed in 2006 and 2007 requested the agencies make it required that “egg production methods be fully disclosed on the labeling of all cartons sold in the U.S.” The groups claims that in spite of Congressional mandates, “the agencies have failed to take any action to regulate the often-misleading claims and deceptive imagery widely found on egg cartons.” The groups say the United Egg Producers, the U.S. egg industry’s trade association, has endorsed federal legislation containing “a similar labeling program.”

The lawsuit’s petitioned action would require egg producers to accurately and clearly label egg production methods on egg cartons, “because false or exaggerated claims about the welfare of hens are so prevalent in the egg market that concerned consumers are often duped into believing eggs come from hens provided a much higher level of care than they are in reality.” In particular, “Eggs from Caged Hens” would be required to appear on labels where correct—and it’s true in about 95 percent of the eggs sold in the US, reports Compassion Over Killing—but many of those eggs are sold in cartons where labels include images of healthy hens, often outdoors in natural settings, despite the opposite being true. “Not only is the egg industry cruelly confining hens in tiny wire cages, it’s also deceiving consumers about that abuse,” says Cheryl Leahy, general counsel for COK. “This misleading marketing needs to stop. Consumers—and animals—deserve truth in labeling.”

Recently, in Germany, the country’s organic certifier pledged to redefine “organic” when it applied to egg production, particularly taking into consideration the ethical treatment of egg-laying hens and the quality of their environment. Under the new definition, large-scale factory farm situations would lose organic certification.

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About Author

Jill Ettinger is the senior editor and featured columnist on EcoSalon and sister website Organic Authority. She is also the site co-director at Eat Drink Better. Jill is the director of social media for EcoSalon and Organic Authority.
Jill’s writing has been featured in The Village Voice, MTV, Reality Sandwich and Global Rhythm as well as the anthologies “Towards 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age” (2009, Tarcher/Penguin) and “What Do You Believe?” (2009, Outside the Box).
A focus on food policy, veganism, wellness, music and world cultural expressions, Jill blends the mystical and modern as she explores what our shifting food, fashion, culture and creative landscapes will look, sound and taste like in the future.
Jill spent more than a decade as a sales and marketing manager in the natural foods industry and regularly consults with and supports emerging brands and organizations in creative communication, social media and event production.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and future foodie, their daughter Imogene. Twitter @jillettinger | www.jillettinger.com.